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I was walking down Broadway the other day and ran into an old friend from my touring days. We talked for a while and upon departure he gave me a hug and said “Happy Holidays Mitch, it is really good to see you”. I left that encounter feeling good seeing my old friend and also feeling a sense that the holidays were upon us.  Then I ran into someone I didn’t recognize and they seemed to pretend to know me and said “Happy Holidays, good to see you”. I walked away not feeling the same. 

In reflecting, I realized that the season of appreciation, thanksgiving and joy is upon us, and many of us will express such things in words, but to truly experience the meaning of the season it takes a lot more than that. I love this time of year and in many ways I hate it. The commercialization of appreciating those that matter and the meaning of our relationships have become seasonal moments rather than everyday events that last a lifetime of memories. Creating lasting value has become a transaction rather than human bond between two or more parties. Our compass has lost is bearings.

Consider how business relations have become transactional instead of relational. Our employees have become profit and loss centers instead of primary factors in developing human capital that creates value for the end consumers of our products and services. The digital world has made all things transparent—but most businesses still try to hide their intentions, without realizing that nothing can be hidden in today’s marketplace. Instead, digital technology has made everything transparent, like it or not.

That being said, your intentions with customers, employees and suppliers are more than the words you speak or write on your website—they are indeed reflected by everything you do. Such things are measured, monitored and discerned by the human network which includes buyers, employees and suppliers. Nothing can be hidden today; rather everything is wide open for the world to see.

The lesson in all this is make sure you mean and do what you say because it takes more than words to convince people you what you say means something.

Happy Holidays, and I mean it!